Luciano Leggio at a court appearance in 1974

Totò Riina, amidst tight security, appears in court following his capture in January 1993

The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Mafia in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca Bagarella, Riina’s brother-in-law. The Corleonesi coalition managed to take over the Sicilian Mafia Commission and imposed a quasi-dictatorship over Cosa Nostra, waging war against rival factions (also known as the Second Mafia War) from 1978-1983. The more established Mafia factions in the city of Palermo grossly underestimated the mafiosi from Corleone and often referred to the Corleonesi as i viddani - "the peasants". Image File history File links Luciano_Leggio. ... Image File history File links Luciano_Leggio. ... Luciano Leggio at his murder trial in 1974 Luciano Leggio (some sources spell his surname Liggio) (1925–January 16, 1993) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Picture of Salvatore Riina, Mafia boss. ... Picture of Salvatore Riina, Mafia boss. ... Salvatore Riina Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina (born November 16, 1930) is one of the most infamous members of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... Corleone is a small town of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. ... Luciano Leggio at his murder trial in 1974 Luciano Leggio (some sources spell his surname Liggio) (1925–January 16, 1993) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Salvatore Riina Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina (born November 16, 1930) is one of the most infamous members of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Bernardo Provenzano in 1959, aged 26. ... Leoluca Bagarella (born 1941) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra. ... The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. ...

Corleonesi affiliates were not restricted to mafiosi of Corleone. The Corleone Mafia bosses initiated “men of honour”, not necessarily from Corleone, whose status was kept hidden from the other members of the Corleone cosca and other Mafia Families. Members of other Mafia Families who sided with Riina and Provenzano were called Corleonesi as well, forming a coalition that dominated the Mafia in the 1980s and 1990s, that can be considered as a kind of parallel Cosa Nostra. (Giovanni Brusca from the San Giuseppe Jato Mafia Family was considered to be part of the Corleonesi faction for example) ^[1] The word cosca (pl. ... Giovanni Brusca (born 1957 in San Giuseppe Jato) is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... San Giuseppe Jato is a village in the Palermo province of Sicily, (Sicilia in Italian) - an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. ...

The pentito (Mafia turncoat) Antonino Calderone provided first-hand accounts of the leaders of the Corleonesi: Luciano Leggio, Totò Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. About Leggio, Calderone said: "He liked to kill. He had a way of looking at people that could frighten anyone, even us mafiosi. The smallest thing set him off, and then a strange light would appear in his eyes that created silence around him. When you were in his company you had to be careful about how you spoke. The wrong tone of voice, a misconstrued word, and all of a sudden that silence. Everything would instantly be hushed, uneasy, and you could smell death in the air." Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... Catania Mafia boss and pentito Antonino Calderone Antonino Calderone (b. ... Luciano Leggio at his murder trial in 1974 Luciano Leggio (some sources spell his surname Liggio) (1925–January 16, 1993) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Salvatore Riina Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina (born November 16, 1930) is one of the most infamous members of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Bernardo Provenzano in 1959, aged 26. ...

"The Corleone bosses were not educated at all, but they were cunning and diabolical," Calderone said about Riina and Provenzano. "They were both clever and ferocious, a rare combination in Cosa Nostra." Calderone described Totò Riina as "unbelievably ignorant, but he had intuition and intelligence and was difficult to fathom and very hard to predict." Riina was soft spoken, highly persuasive and often highly sentimental. He followed the simple codes of the brutal, ancient world of the Sicilian countryside, where force is the only law and there is no contradiction between personal kindness and extreme ferocity. "His philosophy was that if someone’s finger hurt, it was better to cut off his whole arm just to make sure," Calderone said. ^[2]

The pentito Leonardo Messina described how the Corleonesi organized their rise to power: "They took power by slowly, slowly killing everyone … We were kind of infatuated with them because we thought that getting rid of the old bosses we would become the new bosses. Some people killed their brother, others their cousin and so on, because they thought they would take their places. Instead, slowly, (the Corleonesi) gained control of the whole system. (…) First they used us to get rid of the old bosses, then they got rid of all those who raised their heads, like Giuseppe Greco 'the Shoe', Mario Prestifilippo and Vincenzo Puccio … all that’s left are men without character, who are their puppets."^[3] Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... Leonardo Narduzzo Messina (b. ... This article is about the Mafia hitman; for the Genoa_C.F.C. footballer see Giuseppe Greco (footballer) Giuseppe Pino Greco Giuseppe Pino Greco (1950 - September 1985) was a hitman and member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Mario Prestifilippo (died September 29, 1987) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Vincenzo Puccio (Palermo, November 27, 1945 – Palermo, May 11, 1989) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

Division within the Corleonesi

Bernardo Provenzano on the day of his arrest, April 11, 2006, aged 73

Riina’s brother-in-law Leoluca Bagarella

In the 1990s a division emerged among the Corleonesi, following the arrest of Totò Riina on January 15, 1993. Following the months after Riina's arrest, there were a series of bombings by the Corleonesi against several tourist spots on the Italian mainland – the Via dei Georgofili in Florence, Via Palestro in Milan and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome, which left 10 people dead and 93 injured as well as severe damage to centres of cultural heritage such as the Uffizi Gallery. Image File history File links Provenzano_1. ... Image File history File links Provenzano_1. ... Bernardo Provenzano in 1959, aged 26. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Leoluca Bagarella (born 1941) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ... For other uses, see Milan (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The narrow courtyard between the Uffizis two wings creates the effect of a short, idealized street. ...

Provenzano proposed a new less violent Mafia strategy instead of the terrorist bombing campaign in 1993 against the state to get them to back off in their crackdown against the Mafia after the murders of Anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. Provenzano's new guidelines were patience, compartmentalization, coexistence with state institutions, and systematic infiltration of public finance. Provenzano reportedly re-established the old Mafia rules that had been abolished by Riina under his very eyes when, together with Riina and Leoluca Bagarella, he was ruling the Corleonesi coalition. Giovanni Falcone during the Maxi Trial Giovanni Falcone, (May 18, 1939 – May 23, 1992) was an Italian magistrate who specialised in prosecuting Cosa Nostra crimes. ... Paolo Borsellino (January 19, 1940 - July 19, 1992) was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate. ... Leoluca Bagarella (born 1941) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

Giovanni Brusca – one of Riina's hitmen who personally detonated the bomb that killed Falcone, and became a state witness (pentito) after his arrest in 1996 – has offered a controversial version of the capture of Totò Riina: a secret deal between Carabinieri officers, secret agents and Cosa Nostra bosses tired of the dictatorship of Riina’s faction of the Corleonesi. According to Brusca, Provenzano "sold" Riina in exchange for the valuable archive of compromising material that Riina held in his apartment in Via Bernini 52 in Palermo. ^[4] Giovanni Brusca (born 1957 in San Giuseppe Jato) is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina (born November 16, 1930, Corleone) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organisation in the early 1980s. ... The Carabinieri is the shortened (and common) name for the Arma dei Carabinieri, an Italian military corps of the gendarmerie type with police functions, which also serves as the Italian military police. ...

In 2002 the rift within the Corleonesi coalition became clear. On the one hand there were the hardliners in jail – led by Totò Riina and Leoluca Bagarella – and on the other the more moderate, known as the "Palermitani" – led by Bernardo Provenzano and Antonino Giuffrè, Salvatore Lo Piccolo and Matteo Messina Denaro. The incarcerated bosses wanted something to be done about the harsh prison conditions (in particular the relaxation of the 41-bis incarceration regime) – and were believed to be orchestrating a return to violence while serving multiple life sentences. During a court appearance in July 2002, Leoluca Bagarella suggested unnamed politicians had failed to maintain agreements with the Mafia over prison conditions. "We are tired of being exploited, humiliated, harassed and used as merchandise by political factions," he said. Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina (born November 16, 1930, Corleone) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organisation in the early 1980s. ... Leoluca Bagarella (born 1941) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Bernardo Provenzano in 1959, aged 26. ... Mafia turncoat Antonino Giuffrè Antonino Nino Giuffrè (Caccamo, July 21, 1945) is a Sicilian mafioso from Caccamo in the Province of Palermo. ... Salvatore Lo Piccolo (Palermo, July 20, 1942) is a Sicilian mafioso and one of the most powerful bosses of Palermo, Sicily. ... Matteo Messina Denaro AKA Diabolik (April 26, 1962 - ) is a Sicilian mafioso. ... Leoluca Bagarella (born 1941) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

Antonino Giuffrè – a close confidant of Provenzano, turned pentito shortly after his capture in April 2002 – alleges that in 1993, Cosa Nostra had direct contact with representatives of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi while he was planning the birth of Forza Italia. The deal that he says was alleged to have been made was a repeal of 41 bis, among other anti-Mafia laws in return for delivering electoral gains in Sicily. Giuffrè's declarations have not been confirmed. Mafia turncoat Antonino Giuffrè Antonino Nino Giuffrè (Caccamo, July 21, 1945) is a Sicilian mafioso from Caccamo in the Province of Palermo. ... Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... Charles Lucky Luciano, one of the most famous American bosses (La) Cosa Nostra (our thing or this thing of ours in Italian) is a worldwide alliance of criminals, linked through both familial and conspiratorial ties, that is dedicated to pursuing crime and protecting its members. ...   (born September 29, 1936) is an Italian politician, entrepreneur, and media proprietor. ... Forza Italia (Forward Italy) is an Italian party. ...

When Provenzano was moved to the high security prison in Terni after his arrest in April 2006, Totò Riina’s son Giovanni Riina, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for three murders, yelled that Provenzano was a "sbirro" – a popular Italian diminutive expression for a police officer – when Provenzano entered the cell block, insinuating that Provenzano cooperated with the police (maybe referring to the arrest of his father). Terni, (Latin: Interamna Nahars) an ancient town of Italy, capital of Terni province in southern Umbria, 42°33N, 12°39E, at 130 meters (427 ft) above sea-level in the plain of the Nera river. ...

References

• Dickie, John (2004). Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia, London: Coronet, ISBN 0-340-82435-2
• Jamieson, Alison (2000), The Antimafia. Italy’s Fight Against Organized Crime, London: MacMillan Press ISBN 0-333-80158-X
• Paoli, Letizia (2003). Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style, Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-515724-9
• Stille, Alexander (1995). Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic, New York: Vintage ISBN 0-09-959491-9